The Medicine Buddha is a great teacher who purifies all obstacles and brings healing to the world. When the Medicine Buddha was practicing the Bodhisattva path in past lives, he made twelve great vows to relieve the suffering of sentient beings and bring them happiness including curing physical disabilities, relieving poverty, providing material needs, guiding those astray, and liberating prisoners. He is associated with a pure land in the East called Vaiḍūryanirbhāsa, or “Pure Lapis Lazuli”.
On the 29th day of the ninth lunar month, Buddhist disciples worldwide honor the birthday of Bhaisajyaguru Buddha, known as the Medicine Buddha or the Great Medicine King. He is also referred to as the Buddha of Twelve Great Vows, embodying deep compassion and healing. Presiding over the Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli Light in the East, the Medicine Buddha has inspired countless practitioners with his transformative teachings and boundless compassion.
Hua Zang Si, a Buddhist temple in the Mission District of San Francisco, California, held a Namo Medicine Buddha Holy Birthday Dharma Assembly on November 16, 2025. The next scheduled Dharma assembly will be the Namo Amitabha Buddha Dharma Assembly to be held on December 28, 9:30 am.
On the 29th day of the ninth lunar month, Buddhist disciples worldwide honor the birthday of Bhaisajyaguru Buddha, known as the Medicine Buddha or the Great Medicine King. He is also referred to as the Buddha of Twelve Great Vows, embodying deep compassion and healing. Presiding over the Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli Light in the East, the Medicine Buddha has inspired countless practitioners with his transformative teachings and boundless compassion.
Buddhist communities celebrate this sacred day with ceremonies, reciting the Medicine Buddha Sutra, learning from his teachings, and making offerings. The Medicine Buddha Sutra recounts Shakyamuni Buddha’s dialogue with Manjusri Bodhisattva, where he reveals the profound virtues of the Medicine Buddha’s Pure Land and the twelve vows he made as a bodhisattva. These vows reflect his deep empathy for beings suffering from illness, poverty, and ignorance, and his wish to liberate them from these afflictions. This sutra is not only a sacred text but also a guide for overcoming life’s challenges, helping us gain inner peace, health, and happiness.
The sutra explains the Medicine Buddha’s teachings with a unique emphasis on relieving suffering in this life. By focusing on the here and now, the Buddha’s teachings encourage us to look at our lives with clarity, understand our challenges, and gain relief from worldly troubles. This practical orientation gives the Medicine Buddha Sutra a distinctive place in Buddhist practice, emphasizing the importance of compassionate action and wisdom in daily life.
The Twelve Great Vows of the Medicine Buddha
First: I vow to assist those impoverished and tormented by constant struggles. Those who come across my name, sincerely honor it, and practice Dharma to build their merit will see their wishes come true.
Second: I vow that my body shall shine as beams of brilliant light across this infinite, boundless world, freeing all beings from ignorance and worry through my teachings. May all beings attain a perfect state of character, integrity, and enlightenment, like the Buddha.
Third: I vow that my body shall be like flawless crystal, radiating splendid light to all corners, enlightening beings with wisdom. Through the blessings of compassion, may all beings gain spiritual power and physical strength to achieve their aspirations on a virtuous path.
Fourth: I vow to grant all beings the inexhaustible resources they need, freeing them from pain and guilt caused by material desires. While essentials such as clothing, food, shelter, and transport are needed, they should be wisely used. May they generously share these resources within the community to foster harmony.
Fifth: I vow to lead those who have strayed back to the path of righteousness, guiding them toward enlightenment on the Buddha way.
Sixth: I vow to enable all beings to uphold precepts of purity and morality. If they falter, they shall be guided to repent. Those who sincerely regret their wrongdoings and vow to change, with faith in the Buddha, shall be forgiven and regain purity.
Seventh: I vow that all beings who are physically disabled or ill will be blessed with both physical and mental health. Those who faithfully honor the Buddha will receive these blessings.
Eighth: I vow to alleviate the suffering of the poor and sick. May the ill be cured, the helpless supported, and the impoverished uplifted.
Ninth: I vow to relieve the suffering of women seeking transformation. By hearing my name, paying homage, and praying, may their wishes be fulfilled, leading them ultimately to Buddhahood.
Tenth: I vow to release all beings from harmful thoughts. I will guide them to righteousness and honor, so they may walk the Buddha way on a path of light.
Eleventh: I vow to save those who have sincerely repented, including prisoners and victims of natural disasters. Those who are sincere will receive my blessings and be freed from suffering.
Twelfth: I vow to relieve those facing starvation or committing crimes for survival. If they hear my name and hold it dear, I will lead them to the benefits of Dharma and favor them with the sustenance they need, helping them to lead peaceful, contented lives.
The Medicine Buddha’s great vows remind us of the healing power of compassion and inspire us to live with kindness and selflessness. Whether through reciting his name, chanting his mantras, or making offerings, we are encouraged to practice not only for our own relief but also for the welfare of all beings. By embodying the virtues outlined in the Medicine Buddha Sutra, we aim to carry forward the Buddha’s compassionate mission, helping ourselves and others find happiness, harmony, and well-being.
May we all find solace and empowerment through the compassionate vows of the Medicine Buddha and live our lives with health, joy, and a sense of unity with all beings.
It has been nearly three years since the COVID-19 pandemic broke throughout the world. Statistics tell us at least 201 countries and regions across the globe reported confirmed cases, accumulating to more than 620 million cases, over 6 million of which resulted in death. The coronavirus pandemic created chaos in the world order, directly affecting the health of hundreds of millions of people and resulting in fumbled responses early on from some of the world’s best-equipped countries.
Strict lockdown measures were implemented to stem the spread of the disease, and the resulting interruption to human travel, financial systems, and logistics of all areas resulted in broad and serious consequences to the economy, culture, travel, education, medical systems, mental health, social habits, and overall wellbeing. As the world stepped up to fight the pandemic, resources and people were mobilized in countries of every size to find solutions—large and small—that solve the many pandemic-related concerns we now face.
National medical systems treated the sick as private-sector pharma rushed to develop vaccines, treatments, medications and medical equipment. Governments issued emergency relief funds while churches and non-profits turned their attention to addressing the need for medical supplies. The goal was a unified one—to stop the virus from spreading and ending life.
The Buddhist community responded in kind as COVID-19 began to ravage communities in every country. The Pope of World Buddhism, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, took the lead to donate protective and pandemic-fighting supplies to public service organizations and hospitals. H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III said to people, “The emergence of the pandemic is due to cause and effect. There have been many pandemics of different types and forms in the history of human society. Covid-19 is a contagious pandemic, which means it is infectious. It can morph into different variations due to changes in human body and the weather conditions and cause new infections to people. That, however, will result in the generation of anti-bodies in humans. Although this disease cannot be fully exterminated, vaccines can be quite effective in protecting humans. Therefore, don’t stress out, and don’t worry. Do what the government asks you to do. Follow the government’s regulations. Get vaccinated so that you can protect yourself and your family. Do know that humans will not be stopped by the pandemic. At the end, everything will be reopened, because the nation will not be stopped, and the world will not be stopped.”
As foretold by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, humans have gradually developed anti-bodies and vaccines and treatments have arrived. Global pandemic prevention policies continue to evolve, and the pandemic started to ease in 2021. In September of 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters that, “although we are not there yet, the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is in sight.”
The World Buddhism Association Headquarters is a non-profit religious organization in the United States which has many branch Buddhist organizations, associations, Buddhism-learning academies, temples, Dharma centers, and Dharma-listening locations in the world. The purpose of the association is to spread the pure and supreme Buddha’s teachings and Dharma voices of Namo H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and Namo Shakyamuni Buddha to Buddhists, promoting that people abide by these teachings to do good deeds, give, practice compassion, abstain from bad deeds, and commit to all good conduct. By altruistically contributing and dedicating oneself to the nation and society, the world can be filled with auspiciousness.
With Buddhist Dharma assemblies on specific Buddhist occasions, attendees chant Buddhist Sutras, prostrate themselves and pray to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to grant blessings and protections to all. The holy birthday of Medicine Guru Buddha—known by many names and the Lord of the Pure Lapis Lazuli World of the East—lands on the 29th day of the 9th month in the lunar calendar. The Medicine Buddha made twelve great vows and vowed to cure diseases and pain for living beings of the worlds in ten directions in their current lifetime, to let living beings obtain happiness and peace of mind, to increase living beings’ fortune and longevity, and to guide living beings to liberation. All Buddhists respect and admire Medicine Guru Buddha for His vows and their effect on current beings.
In accordance, the World Buddhism Association Headquarters held two Dharma events on October 29 and October 30 to honor Namo Medicine Buddha’s holy birthday. On October 29th, a Dharma Assembly was held in the inner bay of Marian Del Ray, California to release captured lives in observance of the Buddha-Stipulated Day of Releasing Lives. October 30th, the Dharma Assembly convene to respectfully celebrate the birthday of Namo Medicine Buddha at the Holy Miracles Temple in Pasadena, California. Several hundred Buddhists from across the world attended, including holy gurus, eminent monastics, rinpoches, acaryas, Dharma-listening masters, and householders.
The Holy Miracles Temple is owned by the World Buddhism Association Headquarters. It is a temple where authentic Buddha Dharma is practiced and where many real Buddha Dharma’s holy feats have been manifested and shown to the world.
Within the temple, the Grand Hall of Shakyamuni Buddha is presently the only Inner-Tantric Mandala in the world—a place where Two Great Dharma Requirements have been met. Within the hall, the Pope of World Buddhism Namo H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III has presided over many significant holy Dharma Assemblies which manifested the powers of Buddha Dharma, transmitted unparalleled Buddha Dharmas to disciples, and imparted the universal truth. His Holiness illuminates the grand path to liberation that encompasses both the practices of cultivation and Dharma.
Among the temple’s other wonders is the Hall of Buddha Dipankara and the Holy Hall of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. On March 7, 2014, the Holy Blessing Dharma Assembly was held in the place that is now the Hall of Buddha Dipankara to celebrate the First Issue of Imparting the Absolute Truth Through Heart Sutra, a Buddhist Sutra imparted by Namo H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. There, onlookers witnessed a number of Buddhas bestow holy amritas of three different colors, shining down through the roof, passed through a crystal bowl cover into the empty Dharma Bowl.
Today, the Hall of Buddha Dipankara is a sanctuary for Buddhists to light lamps in offering and increase their merits. Great Holy Gurus, Holy Gurus, and Dharma masters chant mantras, read out Buddhist Sutras, and practice Dharmas to pray for and bless lamp lighters. It is said, when one lights the bright lamp of blessing in front of Buddha Dipankara in the holy hall where amritas were once bestowed, the blessings power outshines that of any brought by lamps lit in common-place halls.
Hall of Buddha Dipankara in Holy Miracle Temple
In the Holy Hall of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, the holy statue of Namo Great Compassionate Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara is placed for people to worship. In this hall, the body of Shengzun Yinhai, a noted disciple of Namo H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, was placed after his passing. During the month his body resided in the hall in the Holy Miracles Temple, a series of divine transformations and holy feats took place. His body transformed as, from the tenth day of his passing, the wrinkles on his visage began to disappear and his bones and muscles began grew fuller. His complexion was rosy once more and his hair and fingernails continued to grow. Shengzun Yinhai transformed and realized a non-decaying vajra body—a state never before witnessed in Buddhist history. This transformation marked a new holy chapter in the history of Buddhist accomplishments after passing, and the western media was quick to report on the media.
The Dharma Assembly to Respectfully Celebrate the Buddha’s Birthday of Namo Medicine Buddha was held in the Grand Hall of Shakyamuni Buddha of the Holy Miracles Temple on October 30. The Vice Chairperson of the World Buddhism Association Headquarters and also the Honorable Chairperson of the International Buddhism Sangha Association, Jiaozun Zhengda, who is a holy guru of Gold Button Level II, together with the Abbot of the Hua Zang Si Temple, Ruzun Ruohui, a holy guru of Gold Button Level I, as well as the Abbot of the Sanger Mission Bodhi Monastery, Dharma Master Juehui presided over the Dharma ceremony. Notable holy gurus, eminent monks and nuns, and monastics led the Buddhist chanting. The attendees chanted the Bhaisajya Guru Vaidurya Prabha Raja Sutra—The Medicine Guru Vaidurya Prabha Tathagata’s Fundamental Vows Merit Sutra—in synchronicity.
With praises to the Buddha and offerings made to the Buddha, the two Dharma events included chanting the sutra and the mantras as well as releasing lives. The assembly returned the merits to and prayed for the living beings in the world, praying to Namo Medicine Buddha and the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the ten directions to give blessings and to protect living beings so that the pandemic is eradicated from the world, peace and friendship persist internationally, the world rids itself of calamity and all enjoy good fortune, health, and longevity.
Peace LiLy 